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Teaching

Award-winning, student-centered courses blending creative practice, research, and public-facing work.

Holly Painter is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Vermont. Her classes invite students to write, question, and build new frameworks for understanding culture, labor, and climate.

She received the 2021 Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award and was nominated for the 2021 Prelock Online Teaching Award.

Recent Courses

Science Fiction & the Climate Crisis (HCOL 1500) Examines climate change through speculative fiction, from cautionary tales to “solarpunk” narratives. Students analyze connections between climate change and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through fiction, journalism, and essays, culminating in a group research poster and a short story.

Should We Settle Space? (HCOL 1000 / ENGL 1002) Explores humanity’s potential settlements beyond Earth through science fiction, popular science, and scholarly sources. Students examine how cultural and historical context shapes space settlement narratives and investigate practical dimensions — health, reproduction, habitats, agriculture, politics, and economics. Required text: A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith.

Harry Potter A close reading of the Harry Potter series as a lens for examining themes of power, identity, prejudice, and institutional failure. Students engage in literary analysis and creative writing.

At Work in America: Oral & Written Histories Students learn oral history methods and conduct original interviews with American workers, exploring how labor, identity, and economic change intersect. Connected to Holly’s Obsolete Jobs Project.

Introduction to Creative Writing A workshop-based course introducing students to poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Emphasis on craft, revision, and building a writing practice.

Australian & New Zealand Literature A survey of literary traditions from Australia and New Zealand, drawing on Holly’s experience living and studying in New Zealand.

Exploring Writing Centers (ENGL 2795) Develops writing tutors as theory-informed practitioners. Students explore writing center identity, how identity shapes tutoring sessions, and conduct original research — including the AI study described below.

Programs

Since joining the UVM faculty in 2016, Holly has taught courses in writing, literature, and oral history across multiple programs:

  • Patrick Leahy Honors College (HCOL) — first-year and upper-level seminars
  • Liberal Arts in Prison Program (LAPP) — Reading Space Science Fiction in Prison; Written Expression
  • Liberal Arts Scholars Program (LASP) — Climate Change in Science Fiction & Fantasy
  • Arts and Creativity Learning Community — first-year seminar and teaching assistantship

Holly also served as Interim Associate Director of Foundational Writing & Information Literacy (2018) and was a Foundational Writing & Information Literacy Faculty Fellow (2017–2019) and Sustainability Faculty Fellow (2017–2018).

Writing Centers & AI Research

Holly has served as the Interim Director of the Undergraduate Writing Center (2025) and the Interim Coordinator of the Graduate Writing Center (2022–2023) at UVM.

During her time leading the UWC, Holly supervised a class of undergraduate writing tutors (ENGL 2795: Exploring Writing Centers) who conducted original research on the impact of generative AI on undergraduate writing. Their report, A Changing Landscape: Generative AI in Undergraduate Writing (Spring 2025), is a five-part investigation drawing on literature reviews, faculty interviews, student focus groups, and writing tutor perspectives. Key findings include:

  • Two-thirds of UVM course syllabi have no AI policy; only 10% explicitly approve AI use, while 23% prohibit it
  • Faculty are concerned that AI shortcuts undermine skill development, but feel the university has not done enough to prepare them — many want a clear, university-wide policy
  • Students in focus groups expressed overwhelmingly negative views of GenAI in academic settings, with most favoring prohibition for classwork — though they also advocated education over punishment
  • Writing tutors report increasing student use of AI but lack guidance on how to respond, given inconsistent course policies
  • The report recommends AI literacy education for students and faculty, a cohesive university-wide AI policy, and a prohibition on GenAI for first-year writing to promote self-sufficiency

Holly presented this research at the SUNY Council on Writing 2025 Conference and the UVM VPPASS Spring 2025 Summit.

For more information about this research, contact Holly.

Service

  • Board of Trustees, South Burlington Public Library

Visit Holly’s UVM faculty profile for more information.